1974 Ford Escort RS2000

“ Rally or circuit cars prepared to this level appeal to a specific kind of petrol head. This particular one can be driven to the track (or forest) and then raced. ”
To put this Escort back to its road specification would unquestionably take some work, but wouldn’t be beyond the scope of any dedicated enthusiast.

Background
The Ford Escort has played a significant role in motor sport history and deservedly has the status of a true icon in rallying circles. 

It was undoubtedly the Escort that really established Ford’s credentials in rallying, proving capable of winning World Championship events from 1968, when the Twin Cam model was the works' frontline rally car, right through to 1981 when Ari Vatanen became World Rally Champion driving an Escort RS. 

Ford customers could choose between GT and 1.6-litre Twin Cam or - later on - RS1600 and Mexico models. 

Manufactured at Ford's Advanced Vehicles Operations plant, the latter pair were closely related, the Mexico being, in effect, an RS1600 fitted with a 1.6-litre ohv 'Kent' engine in place of the RS1600's 16-valve Cosworth BDA. 

Both models had shortcomings: the Mexico being not fast enough for many while the 'homologation special' RS1600, although very quick, was expensive to produce and required careful maintenance. 

The answer lay in a new model: the RS2000. 

Powered by the 2.0-litre single-overhead camshaft 'Pinto' engine, the RS2000 was a huge success, proving quicker than the Mexico and easier to live with than the RS1600.

There were about as many rally wins for the RS2000 as there were subsequent go-faster Escorts, with the second-generation still winning rallies right up until the early 1980s. 

It was only shown a clean pair of heels (as was every other manufacturer) when Audi’s category-defining quattro introduced four-wheel drive to the sport. 

Though the fact that a simple little rear-wheel drive Escort could still prove competitive – especially on tarmac – alongside the technically mighty Ur quattro, goes a long way to underlining just how visionary Ford’s intrinsically sound engineering formula had always been.

Overview
We know this car because the vendor bought it at one of our auctions five years ago. 

Back then, it was a superbly fettled and sorted, built-to-the-hilt, track-ready car with plenty of authenticated history and a wad of invoices, bills and receipts from all the right names in the worlds of fast-Fords and motorsport engineering.

And it still is.

The car has been kept warm dry and properly looked-after by the vendor, who is well-known to us and has an excellent collection of fine and interesting classics.

The car was purchased by ADR Racing in 1997 as a rolling shell from well-known Ford competition aficionado and amateur rally driver Ian Harwood, whose eponymous firm finally pulled own the shutters on its Ellesmere Port operation in 2004, by which time it had earned a reputation as a destination one-stop-shop for all things fast-Ford. 

A sizeable number of the UK’s enthusiasts and AVO (Ford’s Advanced Vehicle Operations skunkworks) owners can trace their parts/cars back to Ian Harwood, who often sold off discarded Ford competition cars. 

It is ADR Racing, and their founder Richard Peyer, we must thank for building this car so well in the first place. 

Their skill in doing so was reflected in the car’s successes over many years in the BRSCC Ford Saloons Class B Championship.

This car has the correct ‘BFAT’ prefixed chassis plate and 20-stamped engine. 

Decrypting the chassis plate numbers reveals that the chassis belonged to the 187th Escort built in March 1973 at Ford’s Aveley plant and was first registered on 21st March ’74. 

The large ‘20’ stamped on the engine block further tells us that the correct RS2000-spec engine remains present. 

The other physical clue to the car’s authenticity – other than its badging and rear window vents – is the word ‘Olympic’ printed on its chassis plate, which refers to the car’s splendid shade of Ford Olympic Blue 886, one of just 7 paint colours available for the RS2000.

As far as we’re aware, the car’s last competitive adventure was at a BARC race at Snetterton in 2019. 

Either way, it’s clearly been maintained exceptionally well and, when last auctioned by us, had recently been brought back to its full former glory by competition specialist SGS Services.

Estimate: £35,000 - £40,000

View Current Bid Price HERE